Abstract:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. This project assesses service needs for Gypsies and Travellers in the Cambridge
area. The area covered was the Cambridge sub-region, comprising Cambridge City, East
Cambs, Fenland, Forest Heath (Suffolk), Huntingdonshire, St. Edmundsbury (Suffolk)
and South Cambs, with the addition of Peterborough (unitary district) and King’s Lynn
& West Norfolk (Norfolk). The study was commissioned by Cambridgeshire County
Council on behalf of a consortium of these public authorities. It also provides an
assessment of the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers ‘residing in or
resorting to their district’ (GTAA), as required under the Housing Act 2004 and
following ODPM guidance (2006).
2. The main quantitative data sources were the findings of an interview survey of
313 Gypsies/Travellers within the study area (on sites of all types and in housing)
undertaken in 2005, the official six-monthly counts of caravans since 1980, and local
school rolls data.
3. The Gypsy/Traveller population of the study area (including those in housing)
was estimated at 6500-7000, making them one of its largest ethnic minority groups.
Survey respondents were asked to self-identify within six categories: English
Gypsies/Romanies, Irish Travellers, new Traveller, Scottish Traveller-Gypsy, Showman
and Other. Most English Gypsies in the study area were ‘born and bred’ within the
region, and the survey found a quarter of the Gypsy/Traveller population to be Irish
Travellers.
